The song Freedom! ’90, by George Michael, can be interpreted in a multitude of ways. The main way it is interpreted is as a song about George Michael coming out of the closet, since soon after it was discovered he is gay. He talks about how his image and his public lifestyle are one thing, since he is portrayed as a heterosexual male, but who he really is is something completely different. Another interpretation is that he is singing this song about his new freedom from his band, Wham. He hopes his fans see that he is not the person his band and producers portrayed him to be, and they accept him as the solo artist he is now, true to himself.
Although these are specific interpretations, this song is generally about the freedom to be whoever you want, and express yourself the way you want to express yourself. It’s about the freedom from complacency and from what you are so used to being because that’s what people tell you to be. It’s also about hoping that the people you care about accept who you are, especially when you come out of a state of being someone you thought would please them. It’s about reconciling the freedom to change yourself while still knowing you are the same person you always were deep down inside. This song embraces change and does not show any restraint or guilt, and since it can be so widely interpreted, it is a perfect freedom song.
This song is very different from the 60s song I chose, Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini. That song talks about being embarrassed about having and enjoying a particular kind of freedom, the freedom to show your body and express yourself sexually. This song talks confidently about the freedom to be whoever you want to be, and it attempts to make people understand that they have to accept people the way they are because they’re free to do what they choose. This difference shows that society now is slightly more comfortable with embracing freedom. Society now is more diverse and less conservative, so people are more accepting of new freedoms that may have been looked down upon in the 60s.
